I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-young, Translated by Sophie Bowman Published by Tor Nightfire on August 11 2026
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 112
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Bookshop.org
Goodreads
The nitty-gritty: A Lovecraftian-inspired story set in Korea, A Plagued Sea is an unsettling, claustrophobic nightmare.
“There are, in fact, fish in the sea that have developed limbs like arms or legs to crawl along the seabed. With the volcanic eruption, rarely seen sea creatures from the deep ocean were swept onto the shore. People could imagine all kinds of things when they saw them, once the disaster had loosened their grip on reality.”
A Plagued Sea is a creepy, dread-filled story full of atmosphere, and I thought it was an excellent homage to H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The Korean setting was a nice twist, and in the author’s notes she mentions that she wrote the story during the Covid lockdowns, which makes sense considering it’s about a small village that becomes isolated when a strange sickness breaks out. I really enjoyed this short but impactful story.
Muyoung and her niece Hyun are travelling to the seaside village of Haewon when a powerful earthquake hits. The story then jumps forward three years and the reader learns what happened after the earthquake disrupted the seabed of Haewon. Many villagers began to develop strange ailments, like bulging eyes, flaky skin, elongated limbs and even grossly deformed jaws with sharp teeth. The government declared a state of emergency and locked down the village. No one has been allowed to leave or enter, and even three years later, scientists still haven’t been able to figure out how the disease—dubbed East Sea Disease—is transmitted.
Hyun caught the disease and died, and Muyoung is now working as an unofficial “enforcer,” going after citizens who break quarantine. And one day, an infectious disease research scientist comes to the village to dig into the mysteries of East Sea Disease, but his presence reveals secrets that the diseased have been trying to hide.
The plot of A Plagued Sea is fairly thin—the story is mostly vibes and atmosphere, to be honest. But that didn’t keep me from enjoying it. Bo-young is a master at creating a dark, damp setting where something from the sea has burst forth during the earthquake and is turning people into literal monsters. I loved the descriptions of what’s left of Haewon Village—crumbling houses clinging to the mountainside, rotten fish smells everywhere, and on the shore, stacks of decomposing fish litter the surf. Please take a look at this cover, too, because it’s one of the best covers I’ve seen lately where the cover designer and artist have matched the story vibe perfectly.
There’s quite a bit of tension as details about the infected are slowly revealed, as well as the deeper meaning behind all the horrifying physical changes the infected are suffering through. I loved the emotions the characters feel as well. Loved ones are dead or changing into something otherworldly, people are cut off from family in other towns and cities, and there’s a feeling of depression and hopelessness hanging over the town. Muyoung’s story in particular is so sad, as Hyun’s body was never found, so she doesn’t even have anything concrete to mourn.
A somewhat open ended final chapter allows readers to come to their own conclusions about Muyoung’s fate. Definitely grab a copy if you enjoy creepy, atmospheric cosmic horror.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Not my cup of tea – especially since it’s a novella, and I’m sure I would want more fish…ahem, meat…to it (while the somehow open ending wouldn’t scare me) – but I feel like you were able to give the right reader all the reasons to try it. I do love the cover!
The cover describes the book perfectly! And I agree, the story would have been better with more “meat” 😉
Great review, Tammy! I can definitely see how this was written during the Covid lockdowns (still weird as hell that we went all through that!). And for some reason I love that it’s mostly vibes and atmosphere. Sometimes we don’t need more than that. The only drawback for me personally would be the open ended final chapter. I’m usually not a fan of open endings. But you never know!
Thanks Stephanie! The heavy atmosphere was so well done, she’s such a good writer:-)
This does sound creepy and unsettling.
Very unsettling! I definitely want to read her next book.
Ooh, this is kinda tempting…
It’s very short and more “vibe” than horror.
This one definitely seems like my cup of tea. I just have such weaknesses to Novellas, and atmospheric novellas are some of my favorites because they wrap up before I get annoyed at the atmosphere being the focus
You’d probably love it!
That quote at the start of your review is chilling. Its highly disturbing somehow to imagine fish with limbs. It looks less creepy than I imagined having Googled it but I’m sure there are some rarer, creepier specimens around too. I think I’d really enjoy this one as I love an atmospheric read like this. And for some reason I’ve always been drawn to stories with mysterious plagues too. I also generally quite appreciate an open ending in these kind of reads as it really adds to how they play on your mind. Lovely review.
I love stories with plagues as well. Not sure why! Thank you Charlotte:-)
Hmm, I sure like the sound of this one. Will add to the TBR. Sounds creepy, maybe, but not super-duper scary.
It really wasn’t scary at all. Just unsettling and creepy.
Oh gosh I could never LOL! That’s perfect horror and not for me at all. But I am glad that you loved it and yes based on your review, the book cover matches the story perfectly!
LOL, definitely not for you!
This one is up soon for me, so I am glad to see it mostly delivered! I am honestly okay with mostly vibes, especially since it is short! (This is also good news for my poor TBR!)
I think because it was so short, I didn’t mind the “mostly vibes” thing:-)
I didn’t realize it was so short. That certainly makes giving it a try much easier. 🙂 I love that cover, glad it does a good job reflecting the actual story.
Since as you say this is mostly atmosphere not so much plot, it’s probably a good thing it’s a novella. I’m still quite intrigued by it and I hope to try it at some point 🙂 Great review!
Not one for me, Lovecraftian-style stories don’t always work for me and novellas even less so. Happy to see you liked it though.
Lynn 😀
It does sound creepy! Almost like maybe a good movie? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!